Keep On Flying
by Zeraphic Triomis
Summary: Cid Highwind's first delivery biz starts out smoothly until he is forced into some trouble on his flight. No matter what the situation, he continues fighting for what he truly loves: Flying.


A/N: My Cid story… IS ALIVE! (explodes) Heh, anyway! I quickie story 'bout our all-time favorite pilot! (thumbs up) This is my first Cid story and I like how it came out… and I hope you like it as well. (smile)

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me! But Damian does. (hugs him)

**Keep On Flying**  
"_Don't forget that no matter what happens… keep on going."_

Morning had finally arrived in Rocket Town and I couldn't wait to begin my day flying the good ol' Highwind. It was also the day of my very first business… my delivery service biz. Hey, I wasn't into the idea at first, but _Shera_ said that I should use the Highwind for some good use. _Good use?_ Like I wasn't already using it for _good._ It's for transporting people… not transporting letters and stuff in boxes! Hell, it's not even been a whole day since I sent fliers about my biz to all the towns around the frickin' area. And when I woke up, I came face-to-face with a shit load of boxes piled in my room! I knew from that moment on, I had no other choice. Of course, I guess I sort of _liked_ the idea of delivering shit after a while. At least I got to fly the Highwind all day.

I scrambled out of my bed and carefully made my way out of the crowded room. I only had an hour until I had to get on with my job… but a guy had to frickin' eat, aye? After I slid on my dark blue shirt and my brown pants, I headed towards the kitchen where I started to catch the scent of fresh scrambled eggs. Shera, of course, was already in the kitchen… busy flippin' that frying pan like she had no care in the world. I yawned loud enough for her to turn to my attention. She smiled that beautiful smile at me and offered me a seat at the table.

"Good morning, Captain!" Shera said in an enthusiastic way.

I yawned again and responded, "Mornin'." I wasn't in the mood to talk… I just wanted my food.

As Shera placed my scrambled eggs onto a plate in front of me, she turned and smiled once again. "Are you ready for your big day? Did you see all the packages we got already? I'm so surprised! And it only came from our own little town!"

"Hell yeah I am! Why'd you havetah stick them in my room?" my fist pounded on the table. "It scared the shit out of me!"

She just laughed. "Aw, I'm so sorry… but I thought you'd have forgotten about it so I wanted to remind you a little."

"Yeah? Gee, thanks," I stuffed the last bit of egg in my mouth then took a drink of my orange juice. A loud sigh escaped from my mouth as I pulled away my drink. "Holy shit, Shera. Is it just me… or is it that this breakfast tastes better than the ones you usually make?"

"N-No… it's how I always make them."

A smiled formed on my face. "Well, it tastes fantastic today. I guess 'cause I'm excited about starting my job."

Shera's face turned a bright red. She turned away with her hands pressed against her cheeks. "O-Oh my… t-thank you so much, Captain!"

I rubbed the back of my head. "Neh, it was nothing," I stood up then stretched my arms around. "Welp, guess I gotta move all the crap into the Highwind now."

"Oh, please let me warm the Highwind up for you!"

Before I could even say anything, she quickly bolted out of the house and skipped to the ship. Sheesh, of all the days, she was the most perkiest I had ever seen her. I just shrugged to myself then headed to my room.

The boxes were so frickin' heavy! One of them weighed at least a ton! What were people stuffing into boxes nowadays? It took me a good fifteen minutes to even get the first box into my Highwind. By the time I had gotten all the boxes into my ship, I would have wasted about two hours and a half! Shera was willing to help out, but I knew that she couldn't even lift a box that was even less than a ton. I simply shook my head to her then continued my long work.

As the platform lowered me to the ground, I couldn't help but notice the bright blue sky. It was such a beautiful day… no gray clouds blocking the sun… no signs of that stuff at all. But I couldn't help thinking that a storm was about to hit. Such an unpleasant thought to think about at that moment. It couldn't have been true… the weather guy didn't mention any storms this week at all… unless they were lying. Well, either way, I wasn't afraid of storms or nothing! I've been through more crap than a loud of shit put together! I shook my head then headed towards the house.

I managed to stuff the last box of… whatever into my ship in under an hour! Two hours and a half? Stupid estimation! My arms felt like they were going to fall off. I swore to myself for a good ten minutes before I actually remembered I had a job to do. The Highwind was so stuffed I could barely recognize my own ship. I had a very strong feeling that this wasn't going to be an easy job.

"Welp, better get goin'…"

"Captain!"

Shera's voice made my jump a little. She hadn't spoken to me ever since I got the second box onto my ship. I walked towards the railing and leaned forward. I could just make out on that little dot on the ground.

"What is it?" I yelled.

Her arms waved around. "Please come down! I have something to tell you!"

I rushed towards the platform then lowered myself to the ground slowly. As soon as it hit ground, I ran up to Shera.

"W-What is it?"

Shera revealed a basket of cookies from behind her back. The scent of the chocolate chip cookies was practically overwhelming. I blinked for a few moments then took the basket from her. Shera's cheeks turned a rather pinkish color before she stepped closer to me.

"Good luck with your journey," she sighed in an unusually shy tone.

I smirked. "Don't worry about a thing! I was born to fly!"

"Yes, Captain," and without muttering another sound, she leaned forward and kissed my lips. She quickly pulled away then said, "Don't forget that no matter what happens… keep on going."

"Y-Yuh huh…" I couldn't take in what Shera had just said. I was still stunned about the fact that she_ kissed_ me. She never actually _kissed _me kissed me. Thanks to that, I couldn't find the words I wanted to say. All that came out were a few grunts and 'fwaaa's.

We stood in front of each other for a few awkward seconds before I finally broke away from my daze. "U-Uh yeah! Well, I gotta finish this shit before I get fired on my first day!" I turned and ran towards the Highwind with the basket of cookies clenched in the air. "I'll be back! So you better have more frickin' cookies ready for me to eat!"

"I will!" was the last thing she said before I boarded my ship.

With no time wasted, the Highwind had lifted from the ground and was off to the first stop, North Corel. Luckily, I didn't have to deliver any packages. I had to pick up one. I checked 'North Corel' off from my list of things to pick up then brought the wheel back, causing the Highwind to lift higher and higher from the mountain peaks.

The fly didn't take long at all as I finally reached the small dirt pile called North Corel. I landed my Highwind a safe distance from the town then quickly made my way towards the town. There were so many frickin' people working around, it was hard to move around. I checked my clipboard for the address, realizing that I had to pick up a package from Barret. Oh goody. After asking about ten people, one of them told me where Barret lived. His house wasn't… exactly a house. More like a tent with a mailbox. I entered the tent, spotting Barret sitting with his daughter, Marlene. She was the first to spot me.

"Papa! It's Uncle Cid!" she immediately stood up and hugged my waist.

I couldn't help but grin. She was so frickin' adorable. "Yo, Marlene," I turned to Barret who nodded his head to me. "Hey, what's been hangin'?"

Barret gestured for us to step outside. "Oh, nothin' much. Heard about yer lil' business and decided, why not put poor Cid intah some good use, aye?"

I grunted. "Shyeah, whatever. So, whatcha want me to deliver?"

He reached inside his vest pocket and pulled out a small package. "Lil' Marlene wants this delivered to Cosmo Canyon to a kid named Damian."

I scribbled the info onto my clipboard then kneeled down to Marlene. "Aw, does Marlene have a little boyfriend?"

Marlene stomped her small foot on the ground. "He's not my boyfriend! You and Papa are meanies."

Barret and I grinned at that. "Aw, sorry 'bout that. I'll make sure I get this delivered right away."

"Yay! Thank you, Uncle Cid!"

"Welp, I must be off then."

"Hold on a sec," Barret said. He took a giant step towards me and grabbed the clipboard away from my hands.

"Hey! No one touches my stuff!" I grunted. It was true… I hated it when people did that!

He glanced at my clipboard for a moment then smirked. "Seems like you havetah deliver a package to someone 'ere."

I blinked. "…I do?"

"Dammit, Cid! Look!"

He squashed the clipboard into my face as I scanned the list underneath North Corel. After a moment, I couldn't have felt more stupid with each passing second. Of course, in clear red print… a package had to be delivered to someone. I rubbed my chin and grunted.

"Dammit! These people have GOT to learn how to make their print more noticeable!" I paused. "Hey, how'd _you_ know a package had to be delivered to someone?"

"He's my friend and told me that _his_ friend from Rocket Town was goin' to send _him_ some stuff."

"Oh, whoopy. So I make one mistake. This _is_ my first day on the job. Go easy on me, dammit."

I turned and quickly headed towards my Highwind. Luckily, Barret was nearby when I needed help sorting out the packages. It was the first box I put on my Highwind… the one that weighed about a ton. As soon as we delivered the package to its owner, Barret crossed his arms.

"Geez, yer gonna havetah keep up with your work, Cid, ya'ear?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll check over the list thoroughly, mom."

With that said, I boarded my Highwind and was off to the next stop, Cosmo Canyon. I had three boxes to deliver there, all addressed to Bugenhagen. Geez, I guess my fellow Rocket Towners knew him as well. I steered the Highwind carefully, avoiding the peaks of the mountains.

I landed my ship below Cosmo Cayon. I had almost forgotten that there was no room to land up on the mountains. I grabbed my spear that we leaning against the wall and headed outside. Surprisingly, there weren't as much monsters to encounter than when I was traveling with blondie.

After a good workout, I finally arrived at the entrance of Cosmo Canyon. Whenever I came here, it was always so quiet and peaceful... kinda scared the hell out of me. I rested my spear on the ground and flipped through the pages of my clipboard.

"Three frickin' huge packages to Bugenhagen and… a small one for Damian… and I have to pick up something here as well." That got me to wonder… "…HOW THE HELL 'EM I GONNA GET ALL THOSE BOXES UP HERE?"

"Cid!"

I snapped my head to the voice. Red was running down the steps from Bugenhagen's laboratory. He skidded towards me and panted.

"Glad you're here. Just in time."

I tilted my head. "Oh? Why?"

"My grandfather needed those packages for his experimentation."

"What's he working on?"

He sighed. "I'm not so sure myself. He just told me that you arrived and wanted me to fetch the packages."

I grunted at that. "Yeah… about that… they're so humongous. I can't figure out how to bring them up here. I can't park the Highwind up here, remember?"

Red's tail swished around in a happy manner. "Don't worry about that. We still have the Buggy, remember?"

"…the what?"

Before I knew it, I was riding this… small… frickin' car… up and down the mountain. It was ridiculously small I could barely fit in it! But, oh well. At least it helped me enough to bring those three huge boxes… before it broke down on in front of Cosmo Canyon. I could have fixed it if I wanted to but I didn't want to waste any time.

Red bowed his head in front of me. "Thank you, my grandfather will be so pleased."

"Nyeah, no prob. But… how're you supposed to bring all those boxes up?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," he lifted his head. "Grandfather! They're here!"

Suddenly, a huge hovering platform came out of the sky. I blinked then helped Red place the boxes onto the platform. Once we were finished, the platform floated up to the lab where I spotted Bugenhagen waving happily on the top. I waved back.

I rechecked my clipboard and flicked the page with my red pen. "One more thing," I took out a small box out from my pocket. "Is there a… Damian here?"

"Why, yes," Red said. He nodded his head to a group of kids playing around the Cosmo Candle. "I believe he's somewhere there."

I turned to the group of kids and walked towards them. They were screaming so loudly I could have sworn my head was about to explode. As soon as I was near enough… like… ten feet away, I cleared my throat loudly. They immediately stopped their screaming and snapped their heads at me. I grinned then tossed the small box side-to-side.

"Damian here?"

A small boy that looked about Marlene's age ran up to me looking so happy. "I'm Damian!" he tippy-toed. "Is that from Marlene?"

I nodded then handed it to him. "Yep, enjoy… whatever she got you."

"Thank you, mister!"

Damian ran back to his friends holding his package high in the sky. A smile laugh escaped from my mouth. I felt so relaxed after giving him his package. I had almost forgotten how much getting mail was so exciting. I remember how I acted just like that kid whenever I got one. Nowadays… I don't really get packages from anyone. I grinned at the thought. Heh, poor me.

"Smell you later, Red!"

I raced out of Cosmo Canyon, twirling my spear at unsuspecting monsters nearby. I was in such a good mood. My Highwind was waiting for yet another flight around the world! I lifted off from the ground and soared towards my next stop, Midgar. Surprisingly, it was my last stop for the day! It was only three in the afternoon… but it felt like I've just begun my job. The Highwind swerved around and headed towards the other side of the world.

The ride took longer than I expected….say… maybe an hour and a half? It was getting hard to see as it was getting darker each time I came closer to Midgar. Midgar looked even bleaker than when I first saw it. I'd thought it was going to be less… depressing after we practically saved the world and stuff. Ah well.

I flipped through the pages of my good ol' clipboard and scanned the list underneath Midgar. _Five packages?_ I groaned at the thought of hauling five huge boxes around town. I really hoped that I brought enough money for the constant train rides for the day. My pockets held nothing but dust balls, my pack of cigarettes, and ten gil… Goddammit.

My ship landed a fair distance from Midgar… close enough for me to haul the packages in. They were each addressed to Sectors four, five, six, seven, and eight. There was NO waaaayy I could deliver all of them without my arms giving out.

To tell the truth, this was my first time entering Midgar the right way. Last time I was here, I fell right smack in the middle of this city from the Highwind. As I walked towards the entrance of Midgar, two guards, who came out of nowhere, blocked my way inside.

"State your business," one of the tall guards spoke.

"Hey, I have five packages to deliver to Sectors four through eight. And they weigh a ton so I don't know how I'm gonna-"

"You finally made it, Cid!"

I recognized that voice right away. "Yo, Cloud!" I spotted him emerging from behind the entrance. The two guards quickly moved out of the way as my former leader made his way through. "S'been a while, leader," I added.

"Yes, it has been. C'mon, let's deliver those packages and hurry back to Tifa!"

I blinked. "Uh… how come?"

Cloud's mouth widened. "What? Didn't you get the medication from Cosmo Canyon?"

"What medica-"I froze. How could I have forgotten! I was so busy being happy and so frickin' carefree, I had forgotten to pick up the package back there! My arms twitched for a moment.

"Oh, shit crap dick! Cloud! I havetah go back!" I raced back to the Highwind.

"Just hurry back safely, alright? I think a storm's approaching!"

…and he couldn't have been more right. As soon as my Highwind lifted off, there were storm clouds everywhere. Since when did it get _this_ bad? I swung the steering wheel around, moving my ship sharply to the right. Good thing I did that too, or else I would've hit that lightning bolt whizzing through the clouds.

"Dammit! Of all the d-"

A sudden jolt of my ship cut me off. Everything was shifting to the right and I lost my grip on the wheel, accidentally swinging it sharply to the right. The whole ship went off course and was now heading towards the mountain peaks just ahead of Midgar.

My back slammed against the railing a few feet behind the controls. I swore under my breath and tried my hardest to regain my balance. It was definitely not easy… thanks to that railing… it sunk quite deeply into my back, making it hard for me to straighten up.

The Highwind jolted once again. The power shorted out for a mere second. If the power ever went out… I'd be a dead dog. The next thing I knew, I was forcing myself to straighten up and take control again. I twirled the steering wheel around, just missing an approaching lightning bolt. My ship jerked sharply away from the mountains and was now flying towards Cosmo Canyon.

I managed to make it to Cosmo Canyon in one piece. To my surprise, Red and Bugenhagen were waiting below their hometown. The Highwind's platform lowered me down to the ground. I was almost caught in the strong gust of wind as I ran towards the two waiting figures.

"Cid, I apologize for putting you into this terrible situation," Bugenhagen said in a worried tone.

"No, it's my fault! I'm really crappy with this job… but I can't turn away now," I paused to regain my balance. "Is there something wrong with Tifa?"

"She's been working constantly around Midgar, trying to rebuild the homes and she somehow caught a rare illness from the substances coming from the different metals and objects she was working with," Red answered quickly. "I would tell you more but this storm isn't going to get any better."

"Right," I grabbed the small package from Bugenhagen and carefully faced my ship. "Later!"

"Be careful."

I SWORE that the strong gust of wind came out of nowhere! Right when I took off, it already blew me off course. All this hardcore steering of the ship would have been avoided if I just didn't forget that package!

But all that didn't matter. I've been through worse crap than _this_. I made a vow to myself… that I would fly through the worse… if it were something foolish or if it were meant to help people. The point of it was… to enjoy the flight and experience things you never experienced in your life before.

I smirked straight into the storm. "Listen, Storm of the Asses! Watch out, Cid Highwind is coming through!"

With a flick of the steering wheel, I head inside the storm.

Morning seemed to arrive very slowly. It was only four in the morning when I woke up inside my Highwind. The smile from last night still hadn't worn off. I managed to make it through the storm with only a few scrapes and damages of my poor Highwind. But, it made out it just fine. As soon as I delivered the package to Cloud… I think I collapsed in front of him. Heh, I was so pathetic.

I sat up from my bed, resisting all the pain from my back and muscles. "Ugh… alright… I think that's the last time I fly out into a storm like that… at least for a while…" I stood up and yawned, noticing the basket of cookies sitting on the nightstand. "…guess I better fly back to Rocket Town… hope Shera isn't worried…"

Took me longer to fly back to Rocket Town… with my… achyness… but I manged to return in one piece. It was already seven in the morning. Three hours for that ride? That was a first in my book. As soon as the platform lowered me to the ground, I spotted Shera waiting outside the house. She looked like she was crying. Guess she was worried after all. I slowly walked towards her as she stared straight at me without muttering anything.

"H-Hey, Shera," I smiled weakly. "I had a really crappy trip… if you were wondering."

"C-C-CAPTAIN!" she swung her arms around my neck and hugged me so tightly. "I WAS SO WORRIED! T-THE STORM A-AND THE-!"

I gagged. "I-I'm sorry…first day on the job's harder than I thought, ehe?"

Shera released her grip on me then stepped back. I frowned at the sight of her sad face. "I'm sorry… you probably think this was a horrible idea of mine and want to quit. I-I understand… I mean… you only love to fly when you feel like it, right? You like enjoying the flight rather than… delivering stuff…"

"Whoaho, slow down! I never said I didn't like it. Well, yeah, I did… but… I think this could work out," I patted Shera's shoulders. "I experienced a different way of flying that just might change my life even more! Y'know… to make it more exciting! And you should have seen the look of that kid when I gave him his package! Nothing can compete with that, right?"

Shera's face seemed to brighten up. "S-So… you enjoy your job?"

"Hell yeah I do! I get to fly around more than I used to! You won't see me sitting on the couch like a lazy bum!"

"Heh, oh yeah," she smiled to the ground. "So… can I help you with your job _now_? I could help organize and tell you what goes to who!"

I grinned to myself. She was still willing to help me even after all the trouble I've been through? Damn, she was so full of herself. "Alright, alright. You can help me, but you better not get in the way!"

Shera saluted. "Yes, sir captain… sir!"

"Good!" I pulled her closer to me and gently pecked her forehead. "Now… where're my cookies?"

"Waiting for you on the table, Captain!"

"YES!"

"Oh, and Captain?"

"What?"

"You received mail, regarding the amount of gil you will receive for your deliveries and… a new list of packages for you to pick up and deliver! Isn't that exciting? That means I get to start working with you right now!"

I paused. "…c-can I have my cookies first?"

* * *

A/N: Yay! I love cookies! Wow, I should've made some. (frown) Anyway, to tell you the truth, this was supposed to be a chapter story but I think it was best for this to be one-shot. All my ideas have been spent and I got nothin' anymore. See? (empties pockets) Meh. Anywayses! I hope you liked and please tell me how you thought of it! 


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